Old Flames Burn Twice
by anna24452
Summary: Set during Spirit Bound. Rose passed her trials and begins life as a guardian at court, only to discover that she's pregnant. Fearing the repercussions if the queen finds out about her possibly strigoi pregnancy, she flees across the county. What happens when she comes back? Will Dimitri be able to overcome his guilt and become a father? Will Rose learn to forgive him?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 _"I thought he was going to bite me, but it was our mouths that met, hard and furious. I wrapped my fingers in his hair, trying to pull him closer to me. Meanwhile, his fingers were running against my bare leg, pushing my skirt up almost to my hip. Anticipation and eagerness lit every part of my body. My hands moved down to his shirt, undoing all the buttons so that I could touch his chest. His skin still felt like ice, a startling contrast to the burning within me. He moved his lips from mine, down to my neck and shoulder, pushing down the dress's strap as he covered my flesh with hungry kisses. His hand was still on the side of my bare hip, and I frantically tried to pull his shirt off altogether."_

I flew upwards in bed, a strange cry coming from my throat. My hand went to my cheek, feeling the wet tears that somehow escaped. I was dreaming. I breathed deeply and wrapped my arms around my knees, hugging myself tightly. The contact jolted me back to reality, reminding me that I was no longer a prisoner of the man I loved. The nightmares were almost daily since leaving court. I knew that they were silly to dwell on, but in those moments when I was with him in my dreams, it seemed so incredibly real. Waking up drench in sweat after a dream always left me with a horrible sensation in my stomach. Some disgusting mix of terror and longing.

Dimitri was gone. I knew that. These dreams; however, made it difficult to keep that in mind. My body physically retched at the memory of his blood red eyes and the way he sunk his teeth into my neck. Even so, some deep part of my subconscious, however screwed up it was, reminded me that that was the last real time I'd spent with Dimitri and that we would never be together again. _"Love fades. Mine certainly has."_ The words still stung as I thought back to his rejection.

An arm wrapped around my waist and a cradling body enveloped me. "Is it the dream again?" Adrian lovingly asked, burying his face in the nape of my neck. I only nodded, attempting to hide my tears from the man in my bed. "C'mon little damphir. Let's go back to bed." He helped me lay back down, draping an arm over my stomach and molding his body against mine.

I fixed my gaze at a point on the wall by the bed, willing myself to hold in my tears until he was asleep. After a few minutes, I felt Adrian's breathing deepen and slow. I couldn't control the silent tears that flowed freely. My heart ached for the piece that Dimitri had taken with him and I was afraid that I would never recover.

Adrian would have listened to my feelings. He would even have offered me a shoulder to cry on without judgement. Any of those things would have hurt him deeply though, however willing he was. Adrian had been my rock over the last few months. I only wished that I could reciprocate the feelings he clearly had for me. I intertwined my hand with his, grazing my stomach. It seemed so bizarre, even after all this time, that I had life growing inside me. I closed my eyes and focused on the flutters of my unborn child moving and was soon asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

 _Six months ago_

"Guardian Hathaway, please calm down." The doctor warned beside me. I sat up furiously, threw my legs over the table, and jumped down. I paced the floor frantically. "Please get back into bed. You still have a concussion to worry about."

I promptly ignored him. "You did the test wrong." The more I thought about it, the more worked up I was. "What kind of doctor can't do a simple blood test." Pregnant. Did this guy just tell me I was pregnant? It wasn't possible. The only man I'd ever been with was Dimitri, which couldn't possibly have led to pregnancy. Everyone knew the damphirs were biologically inept and couldn't reproduce together. The distasteful analogy they always used was comparing damphirs to mules.

The doctor put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "Guardian Hathaway, I need you to get back into bed right now." I shook the hand off my shoulder. "I can assure you that the blood work was correct. You are absolutely pregnant." I shuddered involuntarily. Not possible. "I realize this wasn't the news you were expecting, but we do need to do an exam and talk about where to go from here."

I looked at him incredulously. There was nowhere to go from here— except possibly a blood whore community. Abortions were a thing done in our society, especially among damphirs. Our numbers were so low already. I felt my vision constrict and my head swim. I vaguely recognized Dr. Whatshisname calling my name.

When I finally came around, I was laying in bed again and Lissa was holding my hand. She gave me a huge smile, fangs and all. "The doctor asked me to come in and wait with you. He said you got a concussion at the gym." I nodded. "Honestly Rose, I've never seen someone visit hospital as much as you."

My mind raced over the news I'd just received. I needed to confide in someone. I needed to make sense of this. "Liss, I have something to tell you." I felt her concern surge through the bond. "It's going to seem crazy, but I need you to remember that crazy things seem to follow us." She raised her eyebrows, clearly worried by my words. "I'm pregnant."

Lissa jumped to her feet, dropping my hand. "You're what?" She exclaimed. I hastily shushed her and propped myself up. "Who?" She interrogated. "Was it Adrian?"

I made a face that showed it clearly was not Adrian who got me pregnant. "Liss, I've only ever slept with one man." Hoping she'd make the connection, I gave her a minute. Lissa knew about Dimitri and me. After all, she was the one to save him.

"Damphirs can't have children together Rose. It's impossible."

"I know that. But I don't know what else to say. He's the only guy." I put a hand to my throbbing temple, unsure whether it was stress or concussion-related. A knock on the door silenced us. The doctor entered the room with a smile and sat down at a stool beside the bed. He glanced at Lissa. "It's okay. She knows."

The doctor smiled again. "Great. We just need to do an ultrasound and we can get you out of here." I looked toward Lissa and she nodded encouragingly. The doctor lifted my shirt up a bit and grabbed a tube of blue-ish gunk. "This will be cold." He squirted it on my stomach and waved his wand around until he found what he wanted. The doctor turned the monitor to me. "This may give you a shock Rose, but it looks like you are carrying twins." He paused for a moment. "Yes, there are definitely two distinct heart beats."

I sat up furiously. "That can't be right. You mean me and the baby, right. Two heart beats. Not me plus two."

The doctor removed the wand and wiped the goo off my stomach. "Afraid not Rose. It does look like you're going to have twins." I collapsed against the bed. He went back to sizing up the monitor. "I would say by the size of each baby, you're about nine weeks pregnant." I nodded, keeping my eyes closed. Lissa squeezed my hand. I vaguely registered the doctor giving both of us after-care instructions for my concussion before leaving. A sudden though ripped through me. "Oh my god." I inhaled sharply.

"What wrong?" Lissa asked, returning to her seat beside me.

I looked straight into her eyes. "It happened in Russia." I could feel her confusion. "Two damphir's can't have a child. Of course. Nine weeks ago, I was in Russia." I began rambling to myself, realizing the reality of my situation.

"I don't understand Rose." Lissa said, trying to bring me back to Earth.

I grabbed onto her hands. "While I was with Dimitri in Russia—while he was strigoi I mean— we slept together." Lissa looked horrified. "I know. He was just…you didn't seem him Liss. He was so similar to his old self. I wasn't in my right mind. You don't know what it was like." She froze in her seat. "Do you think it's possible?" I asked her, clearly terrified.

"I'm not sure. But it's more likely than two damphirs reproducing." She looked intently at me.

"What does this mean? Do you…do you think they'll be strigoi?" She shook her head, at a complete loss for words. I was quickly putting a plan together. "I have to leave. I have to leave now."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I woke up to the smell of bacon drifting into the room. Stretching my arms, I wished for another ten minutes of sleep I knew wouldn't come. I stood up carefully, my growing belly keeping me slightly off balance. Examining my bump in the reflection of the mirror, I could see just how large I was getting. At thirty-four weeks, my pregnancy was very nearly over. My old, ragged t-shirt stretched to cover the belly.

Sighing, I headed downstairs to see Adrian standing over the stove, shirtless, with a dish towel draped over his shoulder. He smiled brightly seeing me, "Little Damphir! I was wondering when you would be up." I sat down in front of a plate filled with bacon and scrambled eggs. I sniffed them questioningly. "Give me a little credit!" He said in mock outrage. "I can at least cook a simple breakfast."

I took a cautious bite and after deciding the food wasn't going to cause illness, dug in. "Really? I thought all you royals had chefs prepare your food on gold platters." I teased. He came around the corner of the island, leaning down for a kiss. I ducked and held my hand up. "No! Morning breath!"

He laughed. "I don't mind." He bent down and gave me a sweet kiss. He put a hand on my belly "Not long now. We should probably do some shopping soon or the twins will be sleeping in dresser drawers."

I looked scandalized. "They are not going to sleep in a dresser."

"Obviously not in _a_ dresser. They each need one of their own." I pushed him and laughed. "So, what do you want to do today?"

I grabbed another piece of bacon from his plate. "Shopping sounds good." I said between bites. "Just let me run upstairs and shower."

He gave me his signature smile, "Want some company?"

I laughed. "We'll never make it out." I stood up and kissed him. "I'll be down in ten." I hurried upstairs and quickly showered. Drying off, I looked for something to wear. I ended up choosing leggings and a black long-sleeved shirt. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, glancing a my molnija marks. I grabbed a jacket and hurried down the stairs as fast as my new center of gravity would allow. I heard Adrian talking to someone below. "Babe, who are you talking to?" I called out as I rounded the corner.

At the bottom of the stairs stood the person I never imagined I would see again. At the bottom of the stairs stood the man that I would never recover from. At the bottom of the stairs stood Dimitri.

 _Five months ago_

"What about Dimitri?" Lissa begged as I threw clothes into a suitcase. She was trying to get me to tell Dimitri about the babies. "He deserves to know!" She cried.

I shot her a vicious look. "He doesn't deserve anything from me." I continued throwing anything I could find into my one small bag. Just the essentials, I kept reminding myself. I'd known about this pregnancy for less the fifteen hours, but already I had a plan. I was going to leave. To take the babies and leave. I would set up life somewhere else, somewhere where they couldn't be touched. If word got out about the babies, there was no telling what the court would do to them. I wouldn't let that happen.

I called Abe immediately after leaving the hospital and he arranged everything for me from a flight to a house across the country. He didn't need details yet. He just knew that I needed to get out and get out fast. Lissa was begging me to stay. "Please Rose!" She cried. "Please just stay with me."

"I have to go Liss. I have no choice." I took a break from packing and looked at her. "I don't know what these are going to be. They may be damphir or strigoi or some weird mixture of who the hell knows, but I'm not going to let others determine they're monsters before they are even born." She nodded weakly. "As for Dimitri, he doesn't want me. And he certainly doesn't want this."

She started to protest. "They're his children too, Rose. Of course he wants them."

I shook my head and returned to packing. "Liss, you saw how he was after he changed. You know what happens when he remembers the things he did." I sighed. "This would be a reminder everyday for the rest of his life of who he was when he was strigoi. I won't do that to him." I zipped up my suitcase and set it on the ground. "Hey, maybe they'll turn out to be monsters and there won't even be babies to tell him about." I joked to a exasperated look from Lissa.

"You don't mean that."

"Of course I don't." I smiled sadly. "I'll send you my address when I get there. Abe will take care of the rest of my things here at court." I hugged her tightly. She began to cry. "Don't worry. We'll see each other soon." I left the room quickly, afraid that if I stayed any longer I would change my mind.

I boarded the plane half an hour later, glancing back at the world I was leaving behind. "She finally arrives." A familiar voice said from a seat.

I jerked my head around. "What are you doing here?" I was completely shocked to see him sitting on the plane. Did he come to talk me out of leaving? Did Lissa tell him what was going on?

"I couldn't let you go off and start a new life without me!" He patted the seat beside him. "Besides, you think you're going to handle two infants on your own? Strigoi, sure. But infants are a dangerous business." I cracked a smile at his casual joke. In that moment, I didn't care how he knew or why he was there. I was just happy he made it on board. I sat down next to him and laid my head on his shoulder, knowing nothing would ever be the same.

 _Six months later_

I grasped the railing of the stairs for support as I stared at the man I'd cast out of my life so long ago. "Dimitri?" I shook my head in disbelief. How had he found me? "What are you doing here?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

Thanks to everyone for the support! I'm really enjoying the story and I love your reviews. Big changes coming!

 **Chapter Four**

He stood in my living room, starring at me as if he was seeing a ghost. I mentally noted that this was his first time seeing me pregnant. He had to have a million things racing through his mind as he saw me living with Adrian and pregnant. Adrian took my arm and led me to the living room. I sat down on the couch facing Dimitri, feeling grateful to be sitting for fear that I would collapse at any minute.

Adrian looked uncomfortable. He gave my hand a squeeze and said, "I'll give you two a minute." He went through the archway into the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder at us both.

Neither Dimitri nor I had broken eye contact. I felt like my entire body was on fire as he stared at me. "No need. I'm leaving." He seemed to break from his trance and return to his normal, guardian attitude. With that, he walked out of my life as quickly as he had reappeared.

"I don't understand." I raced through possible explanations.

Adrian took a breath. "The queen commanded that he bring you to court as soon as possible." He said as if that were the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"What the hell does Tatiana want with me? And why would she send Dimitri!" I asked, furiously. "You'll just have to tell her I'm not going. She doesn't control me." I stood up, angrily. "I'm not a guardian anymore! She has no right to command me to go anywhere!" I began pacing the floor, thinking of how to get out of this. A strange feeling came from the inside of my stomach and radiated through me.

I looked down to see a puddle of water below me. I gripped the couch in agony. "Rose!" Adrian yelled.

"Looks like I'm not making it to court." I held my belly tightly, trying to breathe through the pain.

Adrian came running outside. "This is not the time for jokes!" He began running through the house, grabbing supplies. He was clearly freaking out.

I made my way down the front steps. "You keep looking." I said sarcastically through gritted teeth. "I'm going to go have a baby." Instantly, Adrian was by my side and helping me to the car.

The rest of the experience was a blur. I barely made it to the hospital in time. I felt like I was dying as I brought my babies into the world. It was ironic in a way that was only funny afterwards. Adrian stayed by my side through the entire delivery, holding my hand and encouraging me. The room was full of nurses and doctors and noise as I screamed. Finally, it was over. They placed my daughters in my arms and the whole world grew smaller. Everything I ever worried about or was frightened of or thought could go wrong faded into the distance. Two beautiful little girls laid against me. They were so, incredibly perfect. I looked into their eyes, and saw their father's dark brown eyes staring back. In that moment, I knew that we would all be okay. That we were a family.

 _Dimitri POV_

The last person I had expected to see when I showed up at Rose's house was Adrian Ivashkov. It took me twenty minutes of circling the block to even be able to knock on the door. I took a deep breath and smiled curtly, "Is Rose here?" I asked. Just saying her name hurt. She left six months ago with no warning.

I probably shouldn't have been surprised. Especially after how I acted toward her after changing back. I hurt her. No—I killed her. When I thought back over the regrets in my life, Rose's expression in the moment that I told her I didn't love her anymore was my greatest. It wasn't that I didn't love her. I just didn't know how. The things that I'd done to her and countless other innocent people would stay with me forever.

"Belikov?" Adrian asked. He had every right to question my reappearance, but his very presence at Rose's house made me want to kill him. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" I cleared my throat and stood up to my full height. "I'm on official business for Queen Tatiana." I stepped into the house and found myself in the living room. It looked so…wholesome. So unlike anything I'd ever imagined for my Roza. But she wasn't my Roza anymore. "I'm here to bring Rose back to court."

Adrian looked outraged. "What do you mean, 'bring Rose back to court'? She's not a guardian anymore. What purpose would she have at court?" The idea that she wasn't a guardian anymore stung. Once a guardian, always a guardian. Rose couldn't just give up everything she'd worked for.

"Babe, who are you talking to?" I heard her voice before I saw here. The beautiful sound filled me with longing. I noticed the term 'babe', but was too consumed with her approach to investigate. I looked up the stairs and saw her round the corner. Her stunning brown hair had been pulled into a ponytail. She looked shocked to see me, something I couldn't hold against her. Finally, I noticed her stomach. It protruded out from her small body so intensely that I was surprised she was standing.

A million thoughts raced through my head. Roza—my Roza was pregnant. With Adrian's baby. Fury engulfed me. I wanted to reach out and kill him for what he had done to her. Her entire future was changed because of him. "Dimitri?" She asked. I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts. "What are you doing here?" I was blinded by rage as Adrian led her into the living room. The rest of the world seemed to disappear as I looked into her eyes. This was my fault. If I hadn't hurt her, she wouldn't be in this position.

Adrian mentioned leaving the room and I knew he couldn't do that. I had to get out of that house. "No need. I'm leaving." I steeled my face and tore my eyes away from Rose. I flew outside, slamming the door behind me with no explination. I threw the car into drive and sped down the road. I hit the steering wheel repeatedly as I lost the control I'd so desperately fought to maintain. I lost her. I actually lost her.

After an hour of furiously driving through the streets of Denver, I pulled back into their driveway. I knocked on the door to no reply. I took a piece of paper out of my duster pocket and scribbled a note, sliding it under her door.

 _Roza,_

 _The Queen insisted that you return to court as soon as possible. She would like you to take over an offensive faction of guardians. She will be expecting you soon._

 _Sincerely,_

 _D._

In that moment, I decided that I wouldn't be an inconvenience on Rose's life any longer. She would be free to live out her life with Adrian and their new family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 _Three Years Later_

I pulled my long brown hair into a tight bun and shrugged on my black guardian jacket. The reflection that stared back at me in the mirror, seemed a complete stranger. She looked older than I was. She was very pretty, but behind her eyes was a sense that she had been witness the something dark and ugly. The woman who looked back at me looked like my mother. The realization was startling. I took a step back from the mirror, avoiding eye contact with myself.

Throwing on my shoes, I mentally prepared for the day ahead. I had a meeting with Titania and the other guardians in a half hour then dinner with Lissa and Christian. I could probably make it to the gym in between if I timed it right. That thought gave me enthusiasm to actually make it to the meeting. Any day I was able to get a workout in was a good day.

I opened the door only to find my feet knocked out from under me. As I crashed to the ground, I glared at my laughing girls who came tumbling down on top of me. "Not cool!" I exclaimed as they knocked the breath out of me. I rolled over and tickled them mercilessly. "You'll pay for that one!" They squealed with laughter.

I surveyed my daughters below me. They were beautiful. Each one had dark brown curls that clearly belonged to my mother and Dimitri's dark brown eyes. They inherited my distinct olive colored skin. Looking at the girls always hurt a bit. It felt like coming home, like seeing their father. They giggled back at me, still in their pajamas. Picking them up one at a time, I carried them into their room. "Why aren't you two dressed yet?"

"We couldn't find our clothes." Kate lied and smiled at her sister. If she wasn't so incredibly adorable, I would have been frustrated.

I dug through their drawers trying to find suitable outfits. I helped Lena get into a green dress and put her shoes on. Kate; however, had no interest in wearing anything I picked out. I held up a blue shirt which she threw across the room. "You have to wear something! What do you want to wear?" Kate pointed to the dress Lena was wearing. "You're kidding me." Recognizing that we were dangerously close to a meltdown before even leaving the house, I held up the identical dress in purple.

Kate pushed me away, insisting she could put it on herself. In many respects, I had one child exactly like each parent. Kate was full of fire and outgoing like me. Lena was more reserved, but the sweetest and most brilliant child I'd ever met. She reminded me so much of Dimitri. I never had any trouble telling them apart because of their extreme personality differences. "Mommy! We've got to go!" Lena cried pulling my hand and dragging me to the door.

"Are we staying with Auntie Lissa all day?" Kate asked. She hated when I had to leave them for work.

I gathered some of their toys and threw them into a bag. "Not all day. We're going to eat dinner there and I'll bring you home after." She stuck out her lips, pouting. "What if we go to the park after dinner?" I asked trying to brighten her mood. It seemed to work because she gave up the pouting routine and let me lead her out the door by her hand.

We arrived at Lissa's house shortly. Lena wanted to knock, so I released her. Seconds later, Christian opened the door. "Girls!"

"Uncle Chrissie!" Lissa and Christian moved in together several months ago after he proposed to her. She'd been in nonstop wedding planning mode every since. The girls ran at him full force, sending him backwards trying to regain his balance. They grabbed onto his legs in a hug and refused to let go. "Can we go to the playground? Can we go to the gym?" They alternated yells.

I smiled at Christian. "As long as there's no fire involved this time." I gave Christian a hard look. Last time he'd taken them to the playground, a mysterious fire had broken out. I had reason to believe it was Christian showing off for the girls. "I mean it, Sparky. Are we still on for dinner at 7?"

"Sure!" He smiled a devilish smile that told me in no uncertain terms that he couldn't promise anything. "We'll see you at 7!"

I gave each of the girls huge hugs and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later. Be good please." They ran off into Lissa's, eager to get to playing. I left the residential area and headed to the meeting rooms. Since returning to court, I'd been reinstated as an active duty guardian. Tatiana appointed me as one of Lissa's many guards, but gave me a much larger duty. I headed up a council of guardians and moroi devoted to gathering intelligence on strigoi whereabouts and leading strikes against their hideouts.

Strigoi were typically solitary creatures, but as recent events demonstrated, they were no longer working alone. Our mission was highly controversial. The dwindling number of guardians didn't help with that. It was ironic that she picked me of all people considering my circumstances. When I showed up with twin girls who were possibly part strigoi, I thought she somehow found out about my circumstances. Over the years; however, she never led me to believe she knew anything about the girls.

Today was more than a meeting. It was an interrogation. A team went out last night and captured a high-ranking strigoi. My job was to get answers. I entered the room generally reserved for trials and surveyed the room. Tatiana sat on behind a podium at the highest point of the circular room. Her personal guard surrounded her. Nobody was particularly please that she was attending, but she insisted. Ten or so additional guardians stood around the perimeter of the room. "Rose!" Tatiana exclaimed. "How good of you to join us. I hope we didn't inconvenience you by being here on time." I stifled a witty retort and apologized. "Shall we begin?" She asked, gesturing to the floor.

In the center of the room was a strigoi. He was thrashing wildly, but was restrained by countless silver chains. I removed my jacked and draped it over a banister. Rolling my sleeves up, I circled the strigoi. As I approached his view, I recognized him. The memory jolted me and I paused for a second. His face turned upward in a smile. He worked for Galina before I staked her. "This is who you brought?" He let out a twisted laugh. His voice seemed to cut my skin. Every word he said took me back to the weakest and most horrible moments of my life. "The unpromised blood whore?" He laughed again.

If looks could kill, mine certainly would have. "I'm promised now." I steeled my expression and grabbed my stake. "And I promise this to you. If you don't tell us what we need to know, I will personally make your next few days so agonizingly painful that you beg for death." He made a noise like he didn't believe me. I moved toward him and slid my stake across his cheek, drawing blood. He let out a blood curdling scream. "We need to know where your group is stationed. You can tell me or we can keep doing this."

Recently, we'd discovered that a group of strigoi were migrating to locations near court, clearly waiting for the opportunity to strike. We'd captured this strigoi on his journey with a tip off from frightened moroi. I raked the stake along his jaw, scraping down his throat and leaving a trail of blood. "You will burn for this." He screamed in agonizing pain.

I let out a short laugh. "You're not really in a position to make threats and I have all day." I didn't relish the idea of torturing any creature—even a strigoi, but I could feel myself quickly overwhelmed by the monster sitting before me. I was actually enjoying this. "Tell us where you're stationed and we can make this short and painless."

He bucked against the chains, desperately trying to break free. "How did it feel?" He asked full of hate. "Being kept as a pet?" My left hook kept him from saying anything else. It wasn't a secret that I'd been captured by strigoi in Russia, but I had no intention of reliving it through this jackass' eyes.

I swung my stake, burying it in his chest. "Hathaway!" Yelled Tatiana. I held one hand up to silence her. I hadn't pushed the stake in far enough to actually kill him, just enough to cause agonizing pain. He sputtered, blood bubbling out of his mouth.

"Tell me!" I yelled, pulling the stake out and plunging it back in. I could feel it grazing his heart with every breath.

He screamed. I pulled the stake out again and readied myself to stake again. "Wait!" His voice was garbled, but full of disdain. "There's an old farm house five miles from the wards. It's abandoned. Yellow. Off the main road. That's where we are." I looked back at Tatiana who nodded. I plunged the stake into him again, this time piercing his heart. He died instantly.

I turned around to face the queen. "I believe we should send a team out as soon as possible to investigate. If the claims are substantiated, we can organize an offensive strike for the morning."

She pondered this for a moment. "No." She said absolutely. "The team will investigate at first light and not a moment before. I'm not willing to risk more guardians based on one strigoi's word."

"But Ti-Your Majesty we need to hit them as soon as possible! Who knows what they're planning!" I was outraged by her caution.

She sighed, exasperated. "We will wait for the morning." I started to protest again. "Guardian Hathaway. I chose you for this position because I thought you were the best choice. Perhaps your personal experiences make you too eager to kill without regard for safety. I may have made the wrong choice in you."

I calmed myself. "No Your Majesty. I am right for this job." She acknowledged my statement and left with her guards following closely. I desperately needed the gym. I needed to punch something. How dare she say I'm too eager to kill strigoi. Ager seeped through me. How can anyone possibly be too eager to kill strigoi? I had a sudden though of Mason and his crazy strigoi hunt. Instantly, I felt stupid for losing my control. I glanced around. "Hans!" He turned to look at me. "What time is it?"

He glanced down at his watch. "7:15."

"Shit!" I grabbed my jacket and ran from the meeting room. "I'm late!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Lissa was not happy. Christian opened the door when I arrived and I hurried in. "She's pretty mad." He warned as I flew past him.

I ran straight to the kitchen where Lissa would be cooking. The other royals had chefs to do their cooking, but I knew Lissa found it therapeutic. She turned around as I ran in. "Liss! I'm so sorry I'm late. Tatiana kept me longer than expected." I wiped sweat from my head and looked at her apologetically.

"Don't worry about it." Lissa reassured. She gasped as she saw me. "Rose! You're all covered in blood!" She reached out to me instantly to heal me.

I shook her off. "It's not my blood." I felt anxiety through the bond and knew what she must be thinking. "It's not Tatiana's either! We had interrogations today."

"I wasn't thinking that!" She defended, but I felt her relief course through me. She tossed me a sweater that had been hanging over a chair at the kitchen table. "Here, put this on so you don't scare the girls. Then help me bring out that bowl." She picked up another plate and went into the dining room.

Stripping my old, bloody shirt off, I changed into the sweater. Lissa's clothes were always too small for me and this was no exception. It clung tightly to my body, leaving little to the imagination. I grabbed the bowl and followed her into the dining room. Dinner looked amazing. "Mommy !" I heard the scream before I saw her. Kate ran straight into me. I leaned down and she ran into my arms. I swung her around before setting her down and picking up Lena. I cuddled her and gave her a great big kiss before setting her down at the table.

"What have you two been up to today?" I asked the twins.

"Oh, you know. Robbing banks and stealing cars. The usual." A familiar voice said from the corner. Adrian walked over, reached around waist, and kissed me.

Christian cleared his throat when he decided it had gone on long enough. "Do you guys mind? I'm hungry."

"Good to see you too." I smiled, flushed. I sat down next to Lena and Adrian took his place by Kate.

Lissa spoke up. "So, how did everything go today, Rose? Did you find out anything useful?"

I nodded. "I'll give you a rundown later." I said, glancing at the twins. "Anyways, I want to hear all about your day!" The twins each enthusiastically gave me a very detailed description of their day, down to the color of the rocks they collected at the pond and the lunch they ate. Dinner went along perfectly. I loved being at Lissa's. It was comforting having all the people I love in one room.

The twins held most of the dinner conversations, and with the way each member of the dinner party looked at them, nobody cared. Everyone was as completely in love with them as I was. Lissa and Christian were incredible to me as I tried to raise the girls. They offered to babysit all the time and the girls loved them so much. Adrian never missed a moment. He always wanted to be with me and the girls. Before coming back to court, we lived together like a couple. Now that we were back, it wasn't appropriate anymore. We were still together, but we certainly didn't flaunt it in public.

That didn't necessarily stop the rumors. The people of court widely considered the girls to be Adrian's despite the fact that they looked absolutely nothing like him. I don't think Adrian minded. In fact, I think he liked being considered their father. He was extremely proud of them and was there for every milestone. The girls knew he wasn't their father, but never seemed particularly interested in his identity. I knew I would have questions eventually, but I would figure that out when it came time.

Once everyone was finished, the girls ran to play with Adrian in the living room. I helped Lissa with the dishes and Christian joined us to hear the news. I gave them the gist of what happened during the interrogation, leaving out the more gruesome details and my fight with Tatiana. "So, he confirmed it? That the strigoi are planned an attack?"

I shook my head. "No. He just confirmed that there are strigoi migrating closer to court and that they're working together." I felt fear flood through the bond. "Don't worry about it, Liss. You're still in the safest possible place for moroi. We'll get to them before they find us." I looked at the clock on the wall as we walked into the living room. It was getting late. The girls were still happily playing, but looked exhausted. "It's past their bedtime. I should take them home." I gave Lissa a hug. "Don't worry. I'll be here." I whispered into her ear.

"I'll help you." Adrian said lovingly and picked up Lena. I scooped Kate up in my arms. Before we even reached home both girls passed out. Adrian and I fell into rhythm together. "I've missed you Little Damphir."

"I've missed you too. We're just getting so close to the strigoi pack that I have to keep on top of it." We reached the house and tucked the girls into bed. I motioned for Adrian to follow me to the kitchen. I poured myself a drink. "Want one?" I asked him. He nodded and muttered a thanks as I passed a glass over and poured.

He looked at me inquisitively. "Hard day?" He asked gently.

I smiled. "You have no idea."

I downed my drink and looked deeply into his eyes. "I can help you with that." He said mischievously.

He walked toward me and wrapped his arms around me and pressing his lips to mine. The kiss started gingerly, with him being careful to go slowly. The kissing grew more intense and hungry. I knew that he couldn't fix what was wrong with me tonight. But maybe he could help. I tangled my hands in his hair and he lifted me, wrapping my legs around his waist. "Take me to bed." I whispered. And he did.

I woke up from a dreamless sleep to someone barging into my room. Without thinking, I grabbed my stake from the side table. I knew that no strigoi was breaking in, but I had no other protection. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I saw Eddie Castile standing in my doorway shielding his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here Eddie?" I whispered loudly, trying not to wake the girls. I noticed his expression. It was terrifying. I grabbed my robe from beside the bed and threw it on. I moved closer. "Eddie. You look like you've seen a ghost. What's going on?"

He look at me in the eyes and struggled to get out. "Strigoi attack outside the wards."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The lights turned on in my small bedroom and I searched for clothes. I threw on a pair of pants, a long-sleeved top, and a jacket. It's was going to be cold outside. "Adrian!" I yelled, unconcerned about waking up the twins. He turned over in bed. "Adrian! Get up!" I was frantically lacing up my boots and thinking through my contingency plan. The strigoi weren't inside the wards, but they were far too close for comfort. I ran to the side of the bed and shook him. "Get the hell up!"

Adrian shot up like he was being attacked. "What? What's going on?" He asked, seeing me completely dressed.

"Strigoi attack outside the wards." He looked panicked. "I'm sure the wards will hold, but I need you to take the girls in case." He nodded and jumped up throwing on clothes. "Go find Lissa and Christian. Most guardians will be at the battle, but there should be some there. If it comes to it, they will take you underground with the rest of the royals and children." I took a deep breath. "Take them with you. Make sure they're okay." Adrian was terrified. I grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to focus. "I need you to protect them. I'm sure the strigoi won't make it through the wards, but I need to know you're here."

He seemed to come back to reality. "I've got them. Go. I'll get them to Lissa's." I nodded and hugged him tightly. I shot him one last look before running out the door. The corridors were a flurry of activity with guardians running to their charges or running to the fight and moroi running for their homes. I ran as fast as my feet would carry me and didn't stop until I reached the south gate. Nausea overwhelmed me. Damphirs and strigoi were everywhere. I couldn't help but think back to the battle at St. Vladimir's.

Shaking off the similarities, I jumped into action. In the distance, I saw Eddie and Hans fighting back to back. We were definitely outnumbered. I swung my stake into the air and plunged it into the heart of a strigoi. Immediately, I was back up with two more facing me. A male strigoi with bright red hair lunged at me. I dodged his attack by jumping to the side, landing on the ground. The blonde female jumped, attempting to land on top of me. I rolled over just in time to avoid being crushed.

Jumping back to my feet, I sized them up. The man was significantly larger than me, but the woman was about my size. She was fast too. She struck out, landing a blow to the side of my head. I dogged her companions kick and retaliated with a kick of my own, landing in his gut. He fell to the ground and before he had time to act, I was sinking my stake into his chest.

Hands gripped my shoulders and threw me. In the blink of an eye, the woman was back, pinning me to a wall. Her grip around my wrist tightened and I could feel the bones crushing. I yelled out in pain and kneed her in the stomach. Unable to use my right hand, I switched the stake over to my left and ran at her. I sent a kick to her legs, knocking her down and went for the kill. My stake barely drew blood before I was thrown off again. Another strigoi was on top of me. We rolled, each one trying to get the advantage. We were seriously outnumbered. I head butted the strigoi hard, catching him off guard just long enough.

I turned back around and received a jab to the face. My stake fell from my bad hand. I ran through my options quickly, unable to think of any reasonable way out. She advanced toward me, cornering me. A sudden high pitched wail rose in the air, causing me to cover my ears. I'd never heard a noise like it. The blonde snarled at me and ran off toward the noise. I scrambled back to my stake ready to attack again, but she was gone. As I looked around, I noticed all the strigois were. They had just ran away.

I surveyed the battle ground. Damphirs were injured, but I couldn't see any dead or mortally wounded. I ran to help Hans who was helping someone get within the wards. It was a crying moroi. We took her to the hospital before sharing a look that obviously said, we need to talk. Tatiana had called an emergency session. When we arrived, the room was packed with high-ranking officials—moroi and damphir alike. Tatiana made eye contact with me as we moved further into the room. She stood, waiting for the frantic crowd to calm. Eventually, she said, "Guardian Croft. Please tell us of the event that transpired tonight."

Hans took a breath and went straight into the story. "I was on duty in the corridors when I received a message from the guardians at the south gate. We had a moroi caravan arriving at court earlier in the evening. They were ambushed upon arrival by a group of strigoi. I sent out an emergency signal to all guardians at Court. Emergency protocols were followed, making sure moroi were secured and we went to fight. The were so many of them. Nearly a hundred if I had to guess. We were severely outnumbered. Nevertheless, we fought. There was some sort of strange scream from the distance and the strigoi turned and ran. I've never seen anything like it."

So it wasn't just me that was confused by the behavior of the strigoi. "How many were lost?" She asked tensely.

"Three moroi. They were already gone when were arrived." Hans said. His voice was strained as he recounted the details of the fight.

Tatiana took a breath and looked me over closely. "We are flying in extra security as we speak. It's clear the we need an offensive strike immediately; however, we cannot strike yet. If the numbers are truly as large as you say, it would be a massacre. We will have to recruit more guardians and wait for ours to heal." She looked puzzled for a moment. "I am confused by your story Guardian Croft. You say they just ran away despite the fact that you were outnumbered."

I spoke up, "I have a theory Your Majesty." She cocked an eyebrow, but motioned for me to continue. "They attacked less than an hour before sunrise. They knew the wards were up. I don't think they would send that number of strigoi for a four-moroi party." I took a deep breath. "I think they knew we were planning an offensive strike." Several people gasped among the crowd. "I think they knew we found out where they were and wanted to scare us. They didn't intend to break into court. I think they wanted to scare us and show their power."

"Why would they do that?" Tatiana asked skeptically.

I thought for a minute. "To provoke you into striking sooner that you're ready. Or maybe to buy more time to figure out how to bring the wards down. I'm not sure Ti-Your Majesty. But I would bet that there are more in hiding than the ones we saw tonight."

Hans looked at me proudly. "I second that. Their intentions were not to attack court."

The room was silent for a full minute before Tatiana spoke again. "It would seem they have an inside man." She thought. "Very well. We will discover who this is. In the meantime, Guardian Hathaway will begin planning the offensive strike factoring in the number of strigoi. Someone will get you a new guardian count by morning." I nodded.

Tatiana exited the room. The meeting was over. I rushed to the door, pushing past everyone. My body ached everywhere, but I needed to get to Lissa's. I needed to know they were okay.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

I ran through the door as soon as it budged and wrapped my daughters in my arms. "I was so worried about you. I was so worried." I kissed them both and smoothed their hair out of their faces. I looked them over, seeing nothing concerning. I hugged them again and stood up. Looking around the room, I saw many anxious faces staring back. "Everything's going to be okay." I tried to reassure them.

"We know." Adrian said and cautiously approached me. "My aunt sent me a message telling me what happened. Rose…" He looked me over again.

I felt waves of concern coming from Lissa. "What the hell is going on here?"

Adrian put a hand on my shoulder. "Have you looked at yourself?" I shook my head. Everyone was acting so strangely. They should be happy that everyone's safe! He led me over to a mirror on the wall. My appearance was shocking. I had a huge bruise developing on my left cheek below my eye, cuts and scratches all over my body, my clothes were ripped, and I had a huge cut down the side of my leg.

I put on my best smile. "I'm okay." I didn't even remember getting most of these, but I didn't really expect to. Most fights were a blur with me just trying to stay alive. "I just need to rest." Lissa came forward knowingly. "No Liss. You shouldn't heal me unless it's serious."

Taking my arm in her hands, she said, "This wrist looks serious. Definitely broken." She surveyed. Adrian helped me get out of my jacket as I winced.

"Just the wrist. I'll heal everywhere else on my own." She nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate. Several moments later my wrist was back to normal. "There. Good as new." I smiled at her, reassuringly. "I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so I'm going to try and sleep for a couple hours before sunset." The girls were tugging on my arms trying to get my attention. "Girls, we can go home now if you want."

The girls both nodded sleepily. Adrian spoke up, "I'll make sure she gets the rest she needs." He told Lissa. I could tell she was accepting his statement. Lissa and Christian hugged both the girls and me. I groaned in pain. "C'mon! I need to get you three to bed."

I gave Lissa my best 'everything's okay' smile and waved goodbye. "Night guys!" While Adrian tucked the girls into bed, I made my way to the bathroom. I knew without soaking and icing my wounds, I would look ten times worse tomorrow. I turned the faucet in on the coldest setting. It wasn't the same as an ice bath, but it would do for now.

Adrian stood in the doorway, smiling apologetically at me. "That looks painful." He walked over and sat on the toilet seat beside me.

"This? I've had worse." I said, playing off the injuries. I was fairly concerned that the cut on my leg would need stitches. He leaned in to me and planted a kiss on the top of my head while reaching down to my leg. I felt a familiar sensation as I opened my eyes to see my cut completely healed. I was shocked. I looked up at him and exclaimed, "You stopped drinking! You can't do that while you're medicating!"

He smiled knowingly. "I had to! You keep getting hurt!" He joked. There was a moment of silence between us where I contemplated everything we'd been through. Adrian had really become a great man. He was kind and responsible and everything I should want in a man. He's not Dimitri. I thought silently to myself. I loved Adrian and I couldn't imagine my life without him. Even so, I shouldn't compare the man I loved to the man he'd never be. Part of love, real love, was not needing to compare. Adrian should have been enough. I wished he was enough. "I was so worried about you Rose." I raised my eyebrows. He rarely called me anything other than Little Damphir.

I intertwined our fingers. "Hey, I'm okay now. No need to worry about me." I smiled at him and climbed out of the bath. I dried off and pulled on shorts and a tank top which was not an easy task. Adrian looked uneasy in the doorway. "Do you want to stay over?"

He gave me his signature smile. "Absolutely. But don't expect to take advantage of me like usual. I have to get my beauty sleep." He slid off his shoes and shirt and hopped into bed.

"Me?" I cried. "I have never taken advantage of you a day in your life Adrian Ivashkov." I climbed into bed delicately, succumbing to sleep deprivation and his warmth.

 _"Rose, don't." I heard true panic in his voice. If he lost me over the edge, I was gone. No Strigoi. No awakening. If I jumped, the water would kill me, not bloodletting. I would be long dead before he found me in the river._

 _"Please," he begged. There was a plaintive note to his voice, one that startled me. It twisted my heart._

 _"Why?" I asked softly. The word was carried away on the wind, but he heard._

 _"Because I want you."_

 _I gave him a sad smile, wondering if we'd meet again in the land of the dead. "Wrong answer," I told him."_

I shot up in bed again, my body screaming with every movement. Adrian hadn't stirred beside me. I stood up and looked out the window. Sunset. I'd only slept two hours or so, and I felt exhausted. I drug myself into the bathroom and went through the motions of getting ready for my day. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized just how much worse my injuries had gotten. My face was bruised and scratched, as was my entire body. I mentally noted how stupid I was for getting pinned by a strigoi. No wonder I looked so rough.

I pulled on my guardian uniform and went back into my room. Adrian lay sleeping in the bed. He looked so peaceful. The longer I stayed with him, the more I understood that I couldn't keep dragging him along. Not just for him, but for myself. If it came to the choice between having nobody or being with someone I could never really love, I would choose nobody. The other option was somehow lonelier. I scribbled a note down on a pad on the bedside table and left it on my side of the bed.

 _Adrian,_

 _I left for work. If you can't stay with the girls today, will you please take them to Lissa's? I should be back around 4. Thanks for your help last night._

 _Love,_

 _Rose_

I quickly left the house before I woke up the girls. Work was particularly rough. Looking at the guardians around me, it was clear who was at the fight and who had just arrived. Those of us who were involved last night were covered head to toe in bruises. Hans had called a meeting of the new and returning guardians to coordinate numbers and charges. This would allow me to create a better defense.

After the initial briefing, we decided to decrease the guardians on individual charges and increase those monitoring the security of the court itself. Our numbers had greater than doubled overnight, but we were still completely outnumbered. As we were concluding the meeting, a voice called out from the benches above. "Why are we not planning a counter strike for day break?" His tone was accusatory.

Hans immediately spoke up. "This is not a public forum Guardian Steele." I knew he looked familiar. Voices of guardians all over started complaining.

"We are not proposing an immediate counter strike because we are outnumbered and outplanned. The strigoi have over a hundred in hiding just beyond the wards. Their attack was meant to scare us and provoke us into stupidly rushing into a battle we cannot win." I shifted my gaze from the audience directly to him. "I will not risk the lives of guardians or leave moroi undefended senselessly."

Other voices shouted out, "You underestimate us!" and "There can't be that many!" and "She doesn't know!"

A voice sounded that caused my heart to stop. "Those of you who were at the battle at St. Vladimir's remember our death count. And we still didn't kill every single strigoi. This will be ten times that. You can't honestly be stupid enough to believe that we could attack with so few guardians and relatively no planning or information."

I turned to face the voice and my breath flew from my body. Dimitri stood at the top row of the seats. His face was in its usual professional expression. He looked exactly as I remembered him from when he came to my house three years ago. His dark hair was pulled back, exposing his dark eyes. The same dark eyes as my daughters. Hans cleared his throat beside me. I broke free of the gaze and shifted my gaze to the audience of guardians. "We will wait and plan an attack after gathering all available information. We will wait until the rest of the guardians have arrived. That is final." I such with such ferocity that people averted their eyes.

Hans said several closing remarks that I promptly ignored. Dimitri was here. Of course Dimitri was here. He was a guardian and we called all guardians back to court. How could I have been so stupid to imagine he wouldn't come? Rescue missions were his favorite after all. Not only was he here, but he had defended me in front of everyone. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I needed to go get my girls. Muttering my goodbyes to Hans and the other guardians who had congregated around us, I left the room.

My calm walk turned into a sprint. I needed to get to the girls and to Lissa. To someone who would understand. I vaguely recognized my name being called from behind me, but I didn't turn around. I kept running with everything I had. I made it to Lissa's house and threw the door open. I collapsed on her couch out of breath. The girls were nowhere to be found. "Rose?" Lissa questioned as she came into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Dimitri's back." I said between breaths. "I saw him at the meeting." I told her about everything that had happened with Dimitri at the meeting. She didn't seem shocked.

"I know." She smiled and I could tell something was wrong on her end. "I got a message from Tasha this morning." I groaned thinking of them both at court together. "It'll be okay Rose." Lissa tried to comfort me. "You don't even have to see each other outside of guardian meetings. Besides, nobody actually knows the truth about the twins. He'll only find out if you want him to."

I nodded, jerking back into reality. "Where are the girls?" I asked suspiciously.

"The last time I saw them, Lena was trying to convince Christian to teach her to catch things on fire and Kate was attacking Adrian." She laughed.

Recognition showed on my face. "I guess I'm going to the gym then."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** I love the reception I'm getting for this story! Please keep the reviews coming. Look forward to a big reunion coming up!

 **Chapter Nine**

I thanked her for talking me off a ledge and ran home to change into workout clothes. Dimitri was back. That was a sentence that I hadn't ever expected to say. When I came back to court, Lissa told me that he and Tasha had left permanently. I assumed that he finally took her up on her offer to have a family and a life together. I couldn't really blame him if he had. He deserved to be happy. I clearly couldn't make him happy after everything we'd been through.

When I arrived at the gym, I found the girls doing exactly what Lissa described. Fortunately, the gym was basically deserted. "Mommy!" They screamed as they ran up to me and tackled me. "Guess what!" Kate yelled as I lifted her into my arms.

"What?" I asked enthusiastically. Looking at the girls made the problems from earlier melt away. She held her hand to my arm and a sizzling heat scalded my skin. I nearly dropped her from shock. "Ouch! What the hell was that?"

She giggled, "It's my power." She said like it was nothing. I stared wide eyed at Adrian and Christian.

I set Kate down and said, "Girls, play together for a minute. I need to talk to your uncles." I marched over to the men, demanding an explanation. "Please tell me that she didn't actually do that. That was you, right?" I asked Christian.

He shook his head. "It wasn't me. Trust me, when she caught a mat on fire earlier, I was just as shocked as you are."

I stared back at the girls. "This doesn't make any sense. They look like damphirs. Their blood looks normal. They are growing like damphirs." I looked at Adrian begging for an explanation. "Damphirs don't have magic." I could feel myself freaking out. "We can't tell anyone. Just the three of us and Lissa. Not until we know more about what it means." They both nodded in agreement. "I was going to get a workout in. I can watch the girls. Thanks for helping with them."

The both smiled at me. Christian spoke up, "I'll talk to Lissa and see what she thinks. See you at 6 for dinner?" I nodded and smiled at them both.

After saying goodbye to Adrian, I found the girls taking turns punching a heavy bag. It didn't move of course, but I was still proud of their form. Definitely damphirs. "If you want to make an impact, you're going to have to punch with your wrist like this." I said before adjusting their arms. They continued their punching session. I picked a bag next to them and began my workout. They picked up on my moves every time I altered them and replicated them on their own bag. Hitting the bag made the anxiety from the days evens disappear.

I finished my set and dried off with my towel. "Ready to leave girls?" I asked, gulping water down. They were still practicing. I crouched down and adjusted their form with every punch, encouraging them to keep going. Footsteps came up behind me and I expected to hear the gym manager kicking us out. Kids technically weren't allowed in the gym. Not that we followed that rule. "Rose?" A deep voice said from behind me. A deep voice with a Russian accent.

I jumped up and spun around. Finding myself face to face with Dimitri for the first time, I was speechless. "I tried to talk to you earlier, but you didn't seem to hear me." He glanced down, looking at the twins who were now staring straight up at him. The height difference was almost comical.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. I internally berated myself for asking such a stupid question. It was a gym. What else would he be doing here.

He seemed taken aback. "I came to work out." I missed his voice. "Do you think that we could speak—"

Kate interrupted him before he could finish his question. I had never been more grateful for her total lack of manners. "Who are you?" She asked.

Dimitri turned his attention to the girls and, to my surprise, knelt down closer to their level. He held out his hand to Kate then to Lena. "My name is Dimitri. I knew your mother at school." Their hand looked miniature compared to his. "What are your names?"

"Ekaterina!" Kate spoke first, excited to use her full name. I cringed at her use of her Russian name. I knew that it was silly to give them Russian names, but I wanted the to have some form of their heritage. Besides, most moroi and damphirs had eastern european names. "Most people call me Kate or Katya."

"That's a very pretty name." Dimitri's eyes flickered to me then back to my daughters. "And your name is?"

Lena responded more cautiously. "Elena." Dimitri smiled at her. "Mom calls me Lena."

Satisfied with their answers, Dimitri said, "It was very nice to meet both of you." He stood back up to his full height.

I could tell he was going to ask to speak with me again, so I broke him off before he could. "It's time to go girls. I need to get you cleaned up." They protested, but gathered their things. I put on my best professional guardian face. "Thank you for answering our call for additional guardians. I look forward to working with you again." I hurried the girls from the gym, desperate to make it home before working through what had just happened.

 _Dimitri POV_

I went to the gym with the intention of forgetting about the meeting earlier. Rose looked so strong and beautiful standing in front of the crowd and commanding attention. When guardians disagreed with her, I had to defend her. Not only were their ideas outrageous, but they were questioning Rose's authority. Looking at her in that meeting caused a rush of memories and feelings I was sure were buried deep. As soon as I made eye contact with her; however, I seemed to revert into the same man I was while we were at St. Vladimir's. She had a hold over me I couldn't explain.

As I walked into the gym, I planned my workout mentally. If I couldn't speak to her, I would work out this issue on my own. Eager to get started, I went straight for the heavy bags. My shock must have registered as I saw Rose crouched beside her children—her daughters. She was teaching the how to punch. My feet walked on their own course, leaving my brain far behind. "Rose?" I said before I'd even registered my mouth moving.

She stood up and spun around suddenly, standing only inches from me. She looked radiant. Her skin was glowing with sweat from her own workout. She looked older, more mature. "I tried to talk to you earlier, but you didn't seem to hear me." I glanced down at her daughters. They were so small. Their hair and skin tone were the same as my Roza's. My heart ached everything I'd missed with her. They looked just like her. I mentally reminded myself that she was with Adrian. The father of her children.

"What are you doing here?" She asked me. She looked stunned to see me here. The same expression was on her face when I spoke during the meeting.

"I came to work out." I said simply. What I really wanted was to speak to her alone. To tell her that I was sorry for how I acted at her home three years ago. That I just wanted her to be happy in her new life. "Do you think that we could speak—"

One of the girls interrupted me before I could finish my sentence in a way that reminded me distinctly of her mother. "Who are you?" She raised an eyebrow, investigating me.

I racked my brain for a good answer to that question. I crouched down to their level and said, "My name is Dimitri. I knew your mother at school." I shook each of their tiny hands. "What are your names?"

"Ekaterina!" One of the girls shouted. "Most people call me Kate or Katya." I couldn't help shooting a look at Rose. She had chosen a Russian name for her daughter. I told myself not to think about it. After all, Ivashkov was eastern european.

"That's a very pretty name." I turned to her other daughter. "And your name is?"

"Elena." I smiled at yet another Russian name. "Mom calls me Lena." She seemed shyer than Ekaterina, but still very Rose-like.

"It was very nice to meet both of you." I took a last look at the girls before standing back up.

I was about to ask to speak to rose again, but I saw the features of her face change and resisted. "It's time to go girls. I need to get you cleaned up." She said. They didn't seem eager to leave, but listened to their mother. "Thank you for answering our call for additional guardians. I look forward to working with you again." Her words were so professional and cold. As she hurried the girls out the door, I realized once again that she wasn't interested in having me be a part of her life anymore.


End file.
